Port collar



Oct. 1.3, 1964 E. BURNS 3,152,646

PORT COLLAR Filed March 19, 1962 ijf/Ga go 3,152,646 PORT COLLAR Erwin Burns, Los Angeles, Calif. (8346 Salt Lake Ave., Bell, Calif.) Filed Mar. I9, 1962, Ser. No. 180,747 4 Claims. (Cl. 16d-224) This invention relates to a well tool and is more particularly concerned with an improved port collar.

It is common practice in the course of drilling a well to circulate gravel or sand, or to by-pass circulating iluid from within one fluid handling string of tubing to the exterior thereof and at `a point intermediate the ends of said string of tubing. To facilitate such an operation, tools, commonly referred yto as port collars, are employed. The ordinary port collar involves an elongate tubular body engaged between the opposing ends of adjacent stands of pipe, making up the iluid handling string. The body is provided with a straight cylindrical bore and one or more radial ports. A straight cylindrical valve sleeve having one or more radial ports is slidably engaged in the bore in the body and is provided with tool-engaging parts to facilitate rotating the sleeve in the body to shift the ports therein into and out of engagement with the ports in the body.

A suitable operating string, which string can conduct the cement or gravel, provided with a setting tool to engage the tool-engaging parts on the sleeve of the port collar is lowered into the tubing string in which the port collar is engaged to -a point where the setting tool engages the tool-engaging parts on the sleeve, whereupon the ports in the sleeve and the body can be shifted into and out of register as circumstances require.

To assure proper functioning of the ordinary port collar, suitable working clearance must be provided between the sleeve and the body, which clearance allows fluid to leak between the body and the sleeve and outwardly through the ports therein when the construction is closed. Ordinarily a small amount of leakage is not detrimental. However, where high pressures are encountered, such leakage results in erosion and cavitation of the sleeve and the body, which results in excessive leakage Iand eventual destruction of the tool.

An object of my invention is to provide an improved port collar construction wherein the valve sleeve establishes tight metal-to-metal contact with the body when the construction is in its closed position.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a port collar of the character referred to wherein the bore in the body is tapered and the exterior of the sleeve is tapered to cooperatively seat in the bore when the construction is in its closed position,

Another object of the present invention is to provide a cam means related to the body and the sleeve and adapted to urge the sleeve longitudinal in the body upon relative rotation of the sleeve and the body.

It is a further object of my invention to provide a port collar of the character referred to which is easy and economical to manufacture, a port collar which is highly effective in operation, and a port collar which is easy and convenient tooperate.

The various objects and features of my invention will be fully understood from the following detailed description of a typical preferred form and application of my invention, throughout which description reference is made to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. l is an elongate, sectional view of a well structure with my new port collar related thereto.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged detailed sectional View of the structure shown in FIG. l, with certain parts thereof in different positions.

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FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken as indicated by line 3 3 on FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken as indicated by line 4 4 on FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 4 showing parts in different positions.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the valve sleeve that I provide.

The port collar A that I provide is adapted to be engaged with the opposing ends of adjacent stands of pipe lll) and Il in a string S of iluid handling pipe, such as a string of drill pipe, a well liner, or string of production tubing. The string S can, as illustrated, extend freely into a well bore W, or can extend through another and larger string of pipe or tubing extending into the well.

The port collar A is shown as including a ported body 20, a ported valve sleeve 30 within the body, and cam means 4d related to the sleeve and the body.

The body 20 is an elongate vertically disposed tubular member having a central longitudinal flow passage 21, an enlarged bore entering the upper end of the body and concentric with the ilow passage, and having an internally threaded upper portion 22 in which the lower end of the stand l0 of the string S is engaged, and a downwardly convergent lower portion establishing a seat 23 for the valve sleeve 3). The lower seat portion of the bore terminates at a hat bottom 24.

The lower portion of the body 2t) is provided with an externally threaded extension of reduced diameter and is engaged in the upper end of the stand 11 of the string S, as clearly illustrated in the drawings.

The body 20 is provided with one or more radial ports 25 communicating with the seat 23 established by the lower portion of the bore.

The port or ports 25 intersect the seat 23 intermediate its upper and lower ends:

In the case illustrated I have shown the body provided with three circumferentially spaced ports 25 and have shown the exterior of the body provided with radially outwardly and downwardly opening ilow channels 26 continuing downwardly from the outer ends of the ports 25 and to facilitate the free flow of fluid downwardly about the body when the structure is in use.

The valve sleeve 3G is a simple tubular member having a central flow passage 31 which is the same in diametric extent `as the ow passage 21 in the body 20 land having a downwardly convergent or conical exterior 32 to cooperatively engage and seat in the seat 23 established by the lower portion of the bore in the body.

The `sleeve 30 is slightly less in longitudinal extent than the seat 23 and is adapted to be shifted from a down position where it establishes wedging, duid-tight, metal-tometal contact with the seat 23, to an up position where it is free from the seat and has running or working clearance therewith.

The lower end of the sleeve opposes the bottom 24 of the bore in the body, while the upper end of the sleeve opposes the lower end of the stand 10 of the string S engaged in the upper portion of the bore in the body and is stopped from displacement from the body thereby.

The sleeve 30 is provided with one or more radially disposed ports 33, which ports are adapted to be shifted into and out of register with the ports 25 in the body 2). In the case illustrated I have shown `the sleeve provided with three circumferentially spaced ports 33.

The ports 33 are positioned in the sleeve so that when the sleeve is in its up positi-on with respect to the seat, the ports 33 are in register with the ports 25 in the body and so that when the sleeve is in its down position and is seated and sealed on the sea-t 23, the ports 25 and 33 are out of register.

In addition to the. foregoing the sleeve is provided with 3 one or more elongate longitudinally disposed slots or openings 34 to cooperatively receive parts of the set-ting 'tool T employed to operate the construction and which will hereinafter be described.

In the case illustrated, I provide three slots 34, each of which is arranged or positioned to intersect one of the ports 33, as clearly illustrated in the drawings.

` In addition, the sleeve 30 is provided with cam slots 41 for the cam means 40, as will hereinafter be described.

The cam means 40 provided by the present invention includes one or more elongate, substantially horizontally disposed cam slots 41 extending circumferentially of the sleeve and positioned between the ends of the sleeve and between the ports 33 therein. Each slot 41 has a straight, horizontally disposed primary portion 42 and an upwardly inclined secondary portion 43 at one end of the primary portion. The means 40 further includes a guide pin 44 related to each slot 4l. The pins 44 are carried by the body and project radially inwardly from the seat 23 and slidably enter the slots with which they are related.

In the case illustrated, the pins 44 are shown carried by suitable threaded plug members 45 engaged in suitable openings 46 in the wall of the body.

The slots are of sufficient circumferential extent to allow the sleeve to be rotated so as to shift the ports 33 and 25 into and out of register with each other. In the case illustrated the slots extend approximately 65 degrees about the circumference of the sleeve.

Upon rotation of the sleeve from its up or open position, where the ports 25 and 33 `are in register, to its down or closed position where the said ports are out of register, the pins 44 engage the ends of the slots and stop the sleeve in the desired rotative position.

It will be apparent that the inclined secondary portions 43 of the slots 41 are of limited longitudinal extent and that the primary portions 42 thereof are of considerable extent. Upon rotation of the sleeve from its open position to its closed position, the pins 44 slide in the primary portions of the slots and serve to guide and hold the sleeve in a position longitudinally of the body in which suitable working or running clearance is provided between the sleeve and the seat. As the sleeve reaches its closed position, the pin enters the inclined secondary portion 43 of the slots with the result that the sleeve is urged downwardly into tight wedging and sealing engagementwith the seat, as it is rotated.

The setting tool T that I provide is shown as including an elongate body 50 with three circumferentially spaced radially outwardly opening longitudinal grooves 51. An elongate longitudinally disposed key block 52 is slidably engaged in each groove l and compression springs 53 are provided between the bottoms of the grooves and the blocks to normally yieldingly urge the blocks radially outwardly relative to the setting tool body.

The tool T is engaged on the end of ya suitable run-in string 54 land is lowered into the string S in which the port collar A is engaged, and is lowered therein until it is positioned within the sleeve 30 of the port collar. Upon rotation of the string 54 and the tool T, the blocks 52 are shifted to a position where they enter the slots 34 in the sleeve. The blocks 52 being engaged in the slots 34, it will be apparent that the sleeve 36 can be easily and corrveniently rotated in the body to its open and closed positions, by simply rotating the string 54 las circumstances require.

In practice, the tool T can be a uid handling structure and can be provided with suitable packers 66 to occur above Iand/ or below the port collar, as is indicated in the drawings. In such case, the string 54 is a fluid handling string.

Since other details of construction and operation of the tool T illustrated do not affect the novelty of the present invention, I will not burden this application with further unnecessary discussion thereof.

Having described only a typical preferred form and application of my invention, I do not wish to be limited or restricted to the specific details herein set forth, but wish .to reserve to myself any variations or modications that may appear to those skilled in the art and fall within the scope of the following claims.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. A port collar of the character referred to including, an elongate vertically disposed body with a central, longitudinal flow passage including, an enlarged central, axially extending and downwardly convergent bore 'in the body and a radial port in the body communicating with the bore, an elongate, vertically disposed, tubular sleeve with a central ow passage, a downwardly convergent exterior, and a radial port, positioned in the bore in the body, cam means to shift the sleeve longitudinally inthe bore and into and out of seated engagement in the bore including, an elongate arcuate cam slot extending circumferentially of the sleeve and having a longitudinally inclined end portion and a pin carried by the body to project radially inwardly and slidably engaged in the cam slot, and operating means to rotate the sleeve to shift the ports in the body and sleeve into and out of register and to rotate the sleeve relative to said pin, including, a rotatable tool having radially outwardly projecting spring loaded blocks and engageable in the sleeve and openings in the sleeve to receive the blocks.

2. A port collar of the character referred to including, an elongate vertically disposed body with a central flow passage, including a central axially extending downwardly convergent bore in the body, and a plurality of circumferentially spaced radially disposed ports communicating with the bore, an elongate vertically disposed sleeve with a central ow passage, a downwardly convergent exterior and a plurality of circumferentially spaced ports rotatably engaged in the bore in the body, and cam means adapted to urge the sleeve longitudinally into and out of tight sealing engagement in the bore when the sleeve is rotated in the body to shift the ports in the body and sleeve into and out of register including, a plurality of circumferentially spaced arcuate slots extending circumferentially of the sleeve and having straight horizontally disposed primary portions and upwardly inclined secondary portions, and radially inwardly projecting pins in the body and slidably engaged in the cam slots.

3. A port collar of the character referred to including, an elongate vertically disposed body with a central longitudinal flow passage, including a central axially extending bore having an internally threaded upper portion and a downwardly tapered lower portion and terminating at an annular flat bottom, an externally threaded extension on the lower end of the body and a radial port in the body and communicating with the lower portion of the bore, an upper pipe section threadedly engaged in the upper portion of the bore and having a flat lower end spaced from and opposing the bottom of the bore, a lower pipe section threadedly engaged on said extension and depending from the body, an elongate vertically disposed tubular sleeve having a central flow passage, a downwardly convergent exterior, and a radial port intermediate its ends positioned in the lower portion of the bore and between the lower end of the upper pipe section and the bottom of the bore, means adapted to rotate the sleeve in the bore to shift the port in the sleeve into and out of register with the port in the body and including, an opening in the sleeve, a rotatable setting tool engageable in the sleeve and having a body with a radially outwardly projecting spring-loaded block to engage in said opening, and cam means to shift the sleeve downwardly into tight sealing engagement with the bore when the sleeve is rotated to shift the port therein out of register with the port in the body and to shift the sleeve upwardly to have running clearance with the lower portion of the bore when the sleeve is rotated to shift the port therein into register with the port in the body including, a cam slot in the sleeve having a horizontally disposed primary portion and an upwardly inclined secondary portion and a guide pin carried by the body to project radially inwardly into the lower portion of the bore and slidably engaged in the slot.

4. A port collar of the character referred to including, an elongate vertically disposed body with a central longitudinal flow passage including a central axially extending bore having an internally threaded upper portion and a downwardly tapered lower portion and terminating at an annular flat bottom, an externally threaded extension on the lower end of the body and a plurality of circumferentially spaced radial ports in the body and communieating with the lower portion of the bore, an upper pipe section threadedly engaged in the upper portion of the bore and having a flat lower end spaced from and opposing the bottom of the bore, a lower pipe section threadedly engaged on said extension and depending from the body, an elongate vertically disposed tubular Sleeve having a central flow passage, a downwardly convergent exterior,

sleeve, a rotatable setting tool engageable in the sleeve and having a body with a plurality of radially outwardly projecting spring-loaded blocks to engage in said openings, and cam means to shift the sleeve Vdownwardly into tight sealing engagement with the bore when the sleeve is rotated to shift the ports therein out of register with the ports in the body and to shift the sleeve upwardly to have running clearance with the lower portion of the bore when the sleeve is rotated t0 shift the ports therein into register with the ports in the body including, a plurality of circumferentially spaced arcuate cam slots in the sleeve, each slot having a horizontally disposed primary portion and on upwardly inclined secondary portion and a plurality of circumferentially spaced guide pins carried by the body to project radially inwardly into the lower portion of the bore and each slidably engaged in one of the slots.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,384,675 Hammer Sept. 11, 1945 2,675,874 Springer Apr. 20, 1954 2,710,655 Collett June 14, 1955 2,723,677 Middleton et al Nov. 15, 1955 

1. A PORT COLLAR OF THE CHARACTER REFERRED TO INCLUDING, AN ELONGATE VERTICALLY DISPOSED BODY WITH A CENTRAL, LONGITUDINAL FLOW PASSAGE INCLUDING, AN ENLARGED CENTRAL, AXIALLY EXTENDING AND DOWNWARDLY CONVERGENT BORE IN THE BODY AND A RADIAL PORT IN THE BODY COMMUNICATING WITH THE BORE, AN ELONGATE, VERTICALLY DISPOSED, TUBULAR SLEEVE WITH A CENTRAL FLOW PASSAGE, A DOWNWARDLY CONVERGENT EXTERIOR, AND A RADIAL PORT, POSITIONED IN THE BORE IN THE BODY, CAM MEANS TO SHIFT THE SLEEVE LONGITUDINALLY IN THE BORE AND INTO AND OUT OF SEATED ENGAGEMENT IN THE BORE INCLUDING, AN ELONGATE ARCUATE CAM SLOT EXTENDING CIRCUMFERENTIALLY OF THE SLEEVE AND HAVING A LONGITUDINALLY INCLINED END PORTION AND A PIN CARRIED BY THE BODY TO PROJECT RADIALLY INWARDLY AND SLIDABLY ENGAGED IN THE CAM SLOT, AND OPERATING MEANS TO ROTATE THE SLEEVE TO SHIFT THE PORTS IN THE BODY AND SLEEVE INTO AND OUT OF REGISTER AND TO ROTATE THE SLEEVE RELATIVE TO SAID PIN, INCLUDING, A ROTATABLE TOOL HAVING RADIALLY OUTWARDLY PROJECTING SPRING LOADED BLOCKS AND ENGAGEABLE IN THE SLEEVE AND OPENINGS IN THE SLEEVE TO RECEIVE THE BLOCKS. 